Hurts So Good - HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP

Ever have those moments where you get the urge to watch a film chocked full of gratuitous scenes of sex & nudity, gruesome acts of violent murder and the raping and pillaging of innocent women? You know those times where that inner monster takes a hold of you and you want to watch a sub-human being, unlike yourself, wreak havoc on everyone and everything it encounters. Yeah, this is totally that movie.

Now I know some of you might be thinking this is SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE - or DAY OF THE WOMAN, as it is known in some circles (to keep you nomenclature neurotics at bay) – and I totally get where you’re coming from. Sadly, while some of you might find those backwoods imbeciles to be not of our kind, they are in fact ones of us and not the subject of the film to which I speak. Guys, I’m talking a about a movie filled to the brim with creepy looking “fish-men” that resemble a massive brained cross between the CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON & that leafy shrubbery costume that the cops wear to bust the perpetrators on To Catch A Predator. The film I’ll be indulging you with this time is HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP

...or MONSTER, to once again save my ass.

So essentially, due to some strange phenomena involving DNA and evolution and some other scientific shit, the people of the small town of Noyo are forced to face a new species of extremely livid Coelacanth (yes that’s a fish) creatures. Seemingly humanoid (hence the title), these freaks of nature are natively sea dwelling, yet capable of surviving long enough to unleash mayhem on the citizen’s land based home front. As a new order struggling to survive, their driving force seems to be the need to copulate with womankind for the sake of procreation. Moving at a Jason Vorhees pace, they start of attacking the citizen’s animals but quickly graduate to killing off the townsmen and having their way with the women. As if this wasn’t problematic enough, while this is going down, there is a brewing war between the inhabitants of Noyo and their Native American neighbors, all over the overuse/misuse of chemicals in their water supply, a subplot that later has much larger ramifications. As you can probably guess, things begin to spiral helplessly out of control, totally shit show style, as the people have to contend not only with the threat of these invasive beings, but with threat of one another as well.

I’ll be frank. While I’m not entirely sure what the MPAA does on a daily basis or how they come up with their “consistent” ratings (see: the whole BULLY controversy), how this film got an R rating in 1980 is beyond me. Right off the bat, there’s enough titt… I mean nudity to shake a stick at and countless instances of the gruesome sight of bodies - and body parts - that don’t look all that healthy and/or intact. On top of that, they’ve got people cursing left and right, getting into all kinds of fights, blowing shit up, and blasting at each other with all sorts of firearms. That alone, I’d think would get it rated a bit harsher, but then you add the imposed intercourse being used as a key element as to why the fish people are abound in the first place and I’d have thought it to be a definite scale tipper. Don’t get me wrong, though, I’m not complaining. It was fortunate that the protective mothers and fathers of the industry didn’t come down so hard, as it’d probably have prevented tons of people from this film having graced their eyes.

Now, let me tell you this… HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP is by no means expertly crafted. It’s actually kinda stupid. The whole premise makes minimal sense, the characters are completely one-dimensional and the plot has more gaps than Amy Arena’s mouth. One who isn’t on board with the whole thing wouldn’t be wrong in saying that it is a hodgepodge of bullshit and, from a cinematic aspect, amongst the most horrendous pieces of trash ever made. In the grand scheme of things, though, that person would be considered an asshole by the cult following of the film as sometimes the synergistic idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts reigns true and, all things considered, this is one helluva shit flick.

What HUMANOIDS does best, one of the key element that brings this film to life and makes it as amazing as it is, is get all the effects right. Coming from Chris Walas, who later brought THE FLY and the GREMLINS to life, everything you see is really looks badass. From the mutilated faces and bodies of the creature’s victims to the obvious man-in-a-suit humanoids, themselves, it doesn’t take much to become completely engulfed in a film with visuals as expertly crafted as those present in this one. The movie is filled with seemingly unjustified amounts of blood, guts and random gore, but the beauty of the product makes it such a much welcome addition to the repertoire. I’d venture to say that this film was at the pinnacle of what science-fiction special effects personnel were able to create at the time and its on-screen masterpiece is a staple as to what separated the good from the bad in the genre.

Furthermore, if you can suspend belief for a brief moment, forgetting the implausibility of everything that transpires, it’s quite entertaining. I don’t know about you, but that whole horror flick element of unwarranted victim confusion, when the most obvious path to safety is so apparently, gets me going. It’s like watching a dumb blonde run up the stairs over and over again, yet in so many different ways. They’ve got quite a bit of that here, something that kept me in the mix, trying to predict how each character was going to predicate their downfall, not caring as to if it actually made sense or not.

The curtain falls on HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP with an extremely open ended conclusion. The film closes with so many questions to be asked and a final act that leaves the door wide open for a second, continuing on with the ridiculousness of the story. Knowing that there was never a sequel made to the film is disappointing as it is totally a buzz kill that the next step I’m sure the majority of you will want, after taking this one in, has yet to surface over the past 20 years and, for all intents and purposes, is probably less than an afterthought in the minds of the higher ups. Yet and still, this is a B-movie hall of famer, something it’s 30th Year Anniversary Special Edition Blu-Ray’s release verifies. I sifted through a bunch of excreta to discover this treasure, so I now bestow the knowledge of its greatness upon you and strongly encourage you check it out. It’ll be worth the dip.

That one guy getting attacked - the HftD just slashes at him and tears all the skin off his chest exposing muscles and bones - totally freakin awesome.
Plus for pre-internet days - you youngins don't get how awesome it was to have such gratuitous nudity at the time - it means nothing now when it's a mere click away.
Saw this at an early age and the cheese factor was totally lost on me - it was genuinely scary to watch! (same for the original Piranha at the time!)

I just wrote about this movie yesterday, and I pop over to Ainitcool today, and someone else is spreading the word on Humanoids. Well I glad, to see other people enjoying it as well .
http://wagthemovie.net/2012/03/21/monster-blog-humanoids-from-the-deep-1980/

When I was a kid my friends and I would score the cable guide looking for parental guide labels like "nudity" or "adult situations". Humanoids was awesome because it had ALL the bad ones. We never missed it.

*Ever have those moments where you get the urge to watch a film chocked full of gratuitous scenes of sex & nudity, gruesome acts of violent murder and the raping and pillaging of innocent women? *
Somewhere Mr Beaks is reading this and nodding vigorously.

Because I'm a freak of trash cinema nature, I saw "Blood Beach" in the theater as a kid. The poster tagline was, "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water---you can't make it across the beach."
The movie itself it pretty terrible. In spite of a great concept, the execution is pretty boring even while featuring great character actors like John Saxon, Burt Young and Audrey from "Little Shop of Horrors."
Sadly, it's never made it to DVD or Blu-Ray, and I donated my VHS copy to Wild & Woolly Video in Louisville years ago. Stick with "Humanoids from the Deep," and you'll be a happy camper.

The tag line of Blood Beach was "Just when you thought it was safe to get back in the water, you can't reach it!" The local movie theater showed Blood Beach as a double feature with Mommy Dearest, and that sublime pairing has never (and now that double features are gone, probably WILL never) be matched. Blade Runner plus Road Warrior was a damn fine runner-up though. Oh, and Humanoids from the Deep was on heavy rotation on HBO in the early 80s, if I remember correctly. Not quite at Beastmaster levels of saturation, but what was?

...he was being interviewed by Fangoria abd got on the subject of Humanoids, "It's a piece of shit, I love it!" As far as the mpaa, they definitely were more lax about things years ago. Look at movies like the original True Grit, which got a G at the time. Or Billy Jack, which was GP originally(laterPG) which has graphic violence(a cop being shot between the eyes) nudity, and the f word. Then you look at later movies like the R rated Cat People, Porky's and Tatoo and you wonder what has happened in the last 25 years. As cable, home video, and the internet has made hard core porn pretty easily obtainable, the mpaa has gotten stricter over the silliest things.

Now that I think about it, Blood Beach is probably what you're looking for, although Sand Sharks was about mutated sharks that swam through the sand, attacking people from below on the beach and it had the tagline "Just when you thought you were safe out of the water," an obvious play on Jaws 2's maxim. It totally sucked, tho.
oh well...

cookylamoo, before declaring the winner of best boobie bounce of the Eighties we ought to make a shortlist.
I'd like to nominate Monty Pythons MEANING OF LIFE for its impressive display of bouncing boobies - you know the scene!

yeah, while i've got a fucking huge laundry list of stuff i want to get to at some point, if you guys have suggestions, feel free to email them over (i'll never find them sifting through these talkbacks). i doubt i'll get to them all, but i'm all about finding the hidden gems that are out there & i'd love to share any goodness that you guys share with me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygxBEGWb0qc
Check out that TV trailer! I've never been the same. Growing up a block away from a pseudo Southern Grindhouse that was run by my step sister's husband's mom, I got a master's education in weird cinema. I could ride my bike to the theater and see anything I wanted for free. I also was given a bunch of posters they were going to throw away like "At the Earth's Core." I saw stuff like "Race with the Devil," "Silent Scream," "One Dark Night," "Death Stalker," etc. You know, the classics, as well as "Friday the 13th," "Halloween II" and all the more well known stuff as well.
I was a movie obsessed tike. I would be happy sitting watching "Norma Rae," "Urban Cowboy," "Scavenger Hunt" (never released on dvd! I talked to Dirk Benedict about this movie a couple of years ago!), "Matilda" (1978) (the strangest boxing kangaroo movie ever made), "No Deposit, No Return," "C.H.O.M.P.S.," any number of outlandish things. I miss those days!

And for something as silly as Humanoids from the Deep?
Really?
It's a fun movie. Is it exploitation? Sure, but it's all just silliness. It's nowhere close to the bizarre awkwardness of the giant maggot rape of Galaxy of Terror.
By the way, just ignore the remake. It's actually crappier and literally re-uses whole sequences from the original film.

A more vintage take on the same premise - Eddie Romero movie from 1968; rampaging monster that resembles a large pile of shit stalks women on a remote island and tears them apart while raping them. The kind of premise that only a movie with a budget of $10,000 can achieve with such glorious incompetence.
Lots of gratuitous blood, gore and nudity. Successful enough to merit two sequels.

...of my childhood.
Watching TMC at my grandmothers house.... Good times.
Humaniods, Blood Beach, The Boogens, Hell Night, Motel Hell, Forbidden World, Galaxy of Terror, and just about every other 80's Corman horror movie you can think of.
(I know those aren't all Corman flicks, but they were in spirit....)

Uses WAY, too many commas, and in, the wrong spots.
Apparently AICN, after Massawyrm left, is getting their 'talent' from the short bus now.
Is it really that hard to find people to write for this site that actually have a functional grasp on grammar?
BTW:
Humanoids from the Deep is BADASS.

...was Pet Semetary and Roadhouse. Must've been 1989. Though I have a video projector and a 12 ft outdoor screen and we watched Race with the Devil and Dirty Mary Crazy Larry together. Now those two I would've loved to have seen at the drive in.

my bad, man. i apologize, profusely, if my extensive, incorrect, overuse of commas bothers you in any way, shape or form. from this day forward, i promise to cut back on the use of such punctuation devices, severely and to the best of my ability, in an effort to appease not only you, but the masses at large.
now, back to my short bus...

Brett Costin, I think his name was, bombed out of the movie business but ran an early-morning "est" type breakfast club for industry professionals in Hollywood. Pretty funny guy, interesting group, and a few Hollywood actors actually showed up from time to time. Joseph Bologna. Lorenzo Music, producer of "Rhoda" and the voice of Carlton the doorman, and Garfield the cat. Very funny guy. Anyway, Brett said that he was pokin' Anne Archer who co-starred in "Humanoids" and shacked up with her later. Taking sloppy seconds from a fish seems to lack a certain self-respect, if you know what I mean.

I remember this as a teen and was amazed with all the nudity/tits that kept coming on the screen! Hell nearly everyone woman was showing her tits and pussy!
I LOVED THIS MOVIE!!!
It was weird, its was gross and violent, and it had BOOBIES!!!!

Modern times in general are tame and wussified. In the 80s we did it the way shit should be done. Tits, blood, f-bombs, all in a day's work, might not even get an R rating. We took it in stride back then.
Kids these days are wimps. Wimps, I tells ya! Not their fault. The moms have gotten insane. Soon kids won't know what band-aids are because their moms won't let them get cuts.
I saw R-rated movies all the time back then with my dad. Sometimes I even went by myself, and they never asked for my ID.
I feel old.

make a film like this and some fucking nutjob congressman or crusading media hungry lawyer will claim it is responsible for kids raping each other with fish...probably spend a few hundred million to get a law against Ichthyasodomy in the books.

...the world was a better place before the government convinced Joe and Jane Six Pack that there was a sexual predator on every corner, your kid needed a helmet to walk down your stairs, video games lead to mass murder and should be rated and controlled, and your neighbor was a potential terrorist.
That the grass may is greener may often not be true...but in this case it is.

Real Estate. I posted this a while back when there was some The Thing news. I have no idea if it's true. But special effects makeup work for film can be a real grind. Tight schedules, night shoots, egos, toxic materials. I know of a studio that had a higher than average incidence in brain cancers.
There's a lot of reasons NOT to do it. Who knows for sure. I'd like someone in the know to post a definitive answer.

...exploitation movies of all time. And it has a banging soundtrack by James Horner. Corman paid for the soundtracks for this and Battle Beyond the Stars and reused the music so very, very many times.
Gotta' love Mr. Corman.

...all the great exploitation themes...environmentalism, bigotry, sexism, addressing them all with a frown and a shrug.
And what about that dummy? His eyes keep moving even after the ventriloquist was gone.
By the way, they just added this to Netflix streaming and it looks like they used the Japanese release (on-screen title is Monster, not Humanoids From the Deep).

Saw this quite a few years ago on Sci-Fi I think - laughed my ass off. Couldn't believe the gore/nudity. Remember Blood Beach too. An inspiration for Tremors?
Pretty sure I've seen a remake of HftD on a DVD shelf in HMV!
Really miss this kinda stuff getting released. I agree that today everything is getting pussified.
Might as well just 'chill'

Yes, eventually the guy would collapse into self-parody, but his very early scores on movies like this (along with Battle Beyond the Stars) were miles better than they had a right to be at this level of budget. That's why he was picked to score Wrath of Khan.

Saw it an our ago, maybe the make up sfx are worth saving, but the director is clueless when it comes to shooting the creatures, no sense of suspense, no real characters to speak off, just an ugly and dumb as shit movie. Utter crap, nothing to salvage, just saying.

I remember watching this movie on Cinemax, way back in the day. As an adolescent I found it a confusing, & stimulating...assault on my senses. A mix of gore, boobs, tension, nudity, blood & guts, and horrible assaults on innocent females. I'm probably over thinking this movie...lol

cobra--kai, let's not forget Phoebe Cates in Fast Times. Subtle bounce. Kind of iconic because Judge Reinhold actually made masturbation normal in that scene, much to the relief of guilt stricken teenage boys.
Then compounded their fears when she caught him. She should have been nominated for an Oscar for her reaction.

My friend and I smoked a bowl of opiumated hash out back, then went in and sat through a double feature of this movie, and Altered States...it was, and will forever be, the greatest cinematic experience of my life.
The end.

After pausing the VCR to watch certain scenes over and over again (in particular the girl who's attacked on the beach) I can confirm this film offers a nice 1-2 second bush shot. Full bush was very important to a young man's formative years in the days before the internet.....
Ah....youth.....

You're right, there's no need to be an asshole...but there's no harm in it either.
Anyone who gets paid to write for a site (or if not paid, anyone who puts their writing up for public consumption) should be ready for the fact that if they show a neophyte grasp of basic grammar they are probably going to get some assholery sent their way.
I would hope that it makes the writer a little more conscientious of their product and serves to spur some incremental improvement in them. Let's just say it's one asshole's way of trying to slow down the 'dumbing down' process.
I would expect anyone who writes for this site to possess the following:
1. A functional grasp of written grammar
2. A thick enough skin to take sarcasm and snipe when directed at them for not displaying a functional grasp of written grammar
And no it doesn't make me feel better to shit on people. That's not my fetish.
It does, however, make me feel better to use sarcasm in leveling a reasonable criticism at the writer of the article and the site that hosts it.
And before you whip out the old chestnut of 'If you don't like it then leave' understand that I *do* like it. I love this site, and have been a regular reader since (almost) the first day.
I love the fact that there is a healthy and vigorous talkback forum and I love the fact that there is an opportunity for people to air their opinions about all aspects of the site from content to delivery.

@spewbacca thanks for the defense. it feels good to know that there's people out there who like what i'm doing enough to stand behind me in a potentially hostile situation. this being my second post, i'm really feeling the newfound love that i've been getting from 97.63% of you guys here in the ain't it cool news-iverse. that being said...
@wiseblood i don't mind the criticism, especially when it is delivered in sarcasm. i'm a huge fan of the tone & i've got the thick skin to take it. if you throw one at me, i'm of the type that'll throw it right back atcha. not only is it enlightening, but the blunt of it is in fun and games. if i fuck up, call me out. just don't take my comebacks to heart, either. at the core, i'm a nice guy and more than likely, anything i say is just me having a good time. know that any criticisms found within the context of our rants and raves will be taken seriously as i strive, daily, to be better at everything it is that i do.

I'm glad you took it as intended, which is as a sarcastic comment.
In fairness though I *should* have also included the fact that I found your article to be, well, pretty awesome and dead on.
I definitely look forward to more of your stuff.

Man that sounds like a great childhood.
Takes me back. I remember seeing Phantasm in a little former military base theater for the first time, similar situation as yours. Except the owner felt bad taking my money when I was buying candy and popcorn, watching movies almost every day. So he'd just wave me in instead of taking my money. I'd sit and listen to him talk about movies for hours. Cool guy.
Good times, those. I try not to be nostalgic, but when you had experiences like those, it's hard not to be sometimes.